Matt McDonald
“They’re taking that down,” says Keith Krach when I ask if the White House’s UFC stage will still be up on July 4, as Donald Trump had suggested. “I think they’re disassembling it right now.” Krach is chief executive of Freedom 250 and responsible for planning events to mark America’s 250th birthday.
Well, partially responsible. The story of America’s birthday party is a complicated one, involving multiple “bipartisan” planning organisations with similar names, cancelled acts and branding disputes.
Ten years ago, Congress set up the United States Semiquincentennial Commission to plan for the 250th. George W. Bush, Barack Obama and their spouses have honorary leadership positions. Joe Biden appointed Rosie Rios, a former US treasurer, to chair the commission. Other roles are held by senators and representatives of both parties, Trump cabinet officials and private citizens such as Kellyanne Conway and Jack Schlossberg.
Under the branding of “America 250,” that commission set about striking licensing deals with a number of corporate sponsors: American Airlines, Coca-Cola, Oracle, Target. Beyond that, the group didn’t achieve much else. “America 250 had nearly a decade to plan, 33 commission meetings, more than $60 million (£45 million) in public funding and no large, splashy events on the books,” according to a chastening New York Times report.
